Van ness



Feb. 7, 1956 VAN 555 2,733,851

SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed July 9, 1954 i rum Emit Z55 ya I'M}.

:1 ,lippuatiiie my 9, 1934,1siai1ird. 4412,30

2 Claims. j Cl. 229-14 This-invention*relates to shippin'gcontainers and refers more spartiularly to? the packaging of irregularly shaped objects: a I For most -purposes, and particularly for the shipment of large-heatvyarticles, the mostdesirable formof pack aging is a conventional -six-sided-g carton having square corners}?sinee such -a-package is most readily-handled and store'd. However, whe'ri'a'n irregularly shaped article such-as arrelectrieqnotor is packed-in an ordinary squarecorneredcontainer', the article-isincontactwith the cartonwallssonly atilocalized areas; and unle'ss some form of-packingqis used to-absorb the forces set up bythe article When-the package is ritovedpandt'ransmit such forces over larger areas of the carton-walls, large localized stresses are imposed upon the carton which may result in its rupture.*- P -aekin'g: materials suchas shredded or crumpled paper, excelsior and the like are commonly used to distribute the" forcesevenly ac'ross the carton walls, but-such materials have the-"serious disadvantage of compacting when subjected torepeated compressive forces andqthey are therefore likelyt-to -permi't the packaged article'to begin moving aboutor-rattling in thereontainer in consequence of rough handling of the package, increasing the chances for a rupture of the container, breakage of the article, or both. Such packing materials have the additional obvious disadvantage of being awkward and time-consuming to pack and unpack and, as a rule, give the recipient the problem of disposing of a bulky mess of loose packing material.

By contrast, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shipping carton of corrugated paperboard or the like comprising telescoping top and bottom sec- 'tions, each of which has novel supports in its corners by which an irregularly shaped article may be cradled eres na-eat "ic 2,733,851 Patented for the practical application ofthe principlesthereofj and in which:

and held against shifting when the carton is assembled,

thereby obviating the necessity for stuffing the container with loose packing material.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a corner support for a shipping carton adapted to cradle an irregularly shaped article in a square-sided container and transmit the motion forces of the article, which result from movement of the package, uniformly over substantial areas of the carton walls.

Still another object of this invention resides in the .provision of corner supports formed of corrugated paperboard or the like, which supports have obliquely disposed surfaces adapted to provide secure but shock-absorbing cradling support for an irregularly shaped article packaged in a square-cornered, flat-sided carton and which are adaptable to a wide range of variations in carton and article sizes and shapes.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment walls.

Figure l is a disassembled perspective view of," a shipping container of-this invention-with an electric motor in place therein; 4

1 Figure 2 is a vertical 'sectional view of an assembled container taken on the plane througha pair of diagonally opposite corners; Figure 3 is a perspective view *of'one of the-corner supports of this invention; and

. Figure 4 is a perspective ;view of a'modifiedembodi ment of the corner suppoitof the-invention.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing, in which like numerals designatelike' parts throughout the several views, the numeral5' designates generally a carton of corrugated paperboardor similar fol'dable sheet material comprising upper and lower telescoping members designated 6'and' 7, respectively- Each of the telescoping members. comprises twopairs of'opposite walls8, and an end wall 10,- the end wall-of the upper telescoping member being considered the top of the carton and that in the lower telescoping member the-bote tom of the carton. V The several walls-ofthe carton are preferably rectangular, to facilitate handling and storage, but, are not neces sarily so, and the principles of the inventionare applicable to cartons of other than the six-sided square-cornered configuration herein shownanddescribem It-will be understood thatthe-telescoping container elements may be fabricated in any known manner, In this instance eachelement is shown asformed from-a single blank of corrugated paperboard having flaps 11 extending endwise from one pair of opposite side walls 8 and foldedto flatwise overlie the other opposite side walls 9, to which they are secured, as by staples 12.

An irregularly shaped object 14 to be packaged in the container, in this case shown as an electric motor, is floatingly cradled on novel corner supports 16 which can be readily fabricated from corrugated paperboard. Each corner support is formed from a blank of paperboard folded to define four connected side walls 17, 18, 19, 20, comprising a pair of adjacent outer walls 17, 18 and a diagonally opposite pair of adjacent inner walls 19, 20. One of the outer walls 17 is defined by overlapping end portions of the blank from which the corner support is formed and therefore has double thickness. It will be understood that this overlap may, if desired, be extended around two or more of the walls.

Each of the inner walls 19, 20 has a fold 21 therein extending diagonally thereacross. Specifically, this diagonal fold on each inner wall extends from a point on the junction of the two inner walls, intermediate their top and bottom edges, to the upper edge of the inner wall, intermediate its ends, and the two folds thus define a pair of triangular supporting portions 22, displaced toward the outer walls 17, 18 and disposed obliquely to the inner The corner fold 24 defined by the junction of the two inner walls has its direction of crease reversed at the point from which the diagonal folds 21 originate; that is, beneath said point the corner fold defines the line along which the two inner side walls are perpendicular to one another, and above that point it defines the junction of the triangular supporting portions which are disposed at obtuse angles to one another and to the inner side walls from which they are respectively folded.

In the modified embodiment of the corner support shown in Figure 4, two corner supports 16', 16" are folded from asingleelongated paperboard blank, and the straight portion 25 of the blank, between the two Supports, flatwise overlies the inner surface of one carton wall to reinforce the same. I j

-In-the assembled container of this invention, a corner support is installed in each corner of each of the telescoping carton elements, with its outer side walls flatwise overlying the inner surface of the side walls of the carton element. Preferably the corner supports are secured to the carton element, this being done in any desired manner, as by means of staples or adhesive tape.

It will-be apparent that the oblique supporting surfaces on the four corner supports in each telescoping member of the carton will engage the packaged article atfour spaced points, securely cradling it and confining it against rattling in any direction in the carton, while holding it out of engagement with the walls of the carton itself. Moreover, the paperboard has sufiicient resilience to absorb substantial shocks, combined with sufiicient rigidity so that it will not collapse under the roughest handling to which it can be expected that the carton will be subl jected.

' The height of the corner supports in each carton element should be less than the height of the side walls of the carton element, so that the corner supports of the top and bottom elements will be spaced from one another when the two elements are telescoped together, enclosing the packaged article. A metal band 27 or the like holding the carton elements in telescoped relation thus forces the corner supports into snug engagement with the article, affording it a secure eight-point suspension.

From the foregoing description, taken together with the accompanying drawing, it will be apparent that this invention provides a square-cornered container in which irregularly shaped objects may be safely shipped withoutthe need for loose packing material, and that the corner supports in the container of this invention provide a cradling suspension for the article which secures it against rattling or movement in the carton and which has sufficient resilience to protect it from shocks.

1. A shipping container comprising: a box having a plurality of fiat side walls, the adjacent edges of which are joined along parallel corners; a combination spacer and article supporting unit in each corner of the box, each of said units consisting of a plurality of flat side walls joined along parallel corners, each said unit having a pair of outer side walls flatwisepyerlying the inner faces of a pair of adjacent side walls of the box and ajpair of inner walls diagonally-opposite its-outer'wallQ-the inner walls having folds extending diagonally upwardlyufronr-la point on cornerv e e yath i fh i snt sa es and y which folds portions of said inner walls are displaced obliquely toward the outer side walls and disposed at an angle to"said'cor'ner to provideinclinedsupprting surfaces- 1 at 7 s 2. A shippingcontainer comprising: a box having a plurality of flat side walls; and a combination spacer and supporting member in each of a plurality of corners of the box, each of said members comprisinga plurality of connected paper-board side walls, an adjacent-pair of which flatwise overlie the inner faces of a pair of adjacent flat side walls of the box and another adjacent pair of which extended into the interior of the box at angles to the firstdesignate d pair, said secohddesignated pair of flat side walls of each member having folds extending diagonally upwardly from a point on the corner defined by their adjacent edges, by which folds portions of said second designated" pair of flat side walls are displaced obliquely toward said first designated pair thereof and disposed at an angle to the corner defined by said adjacent side walls of the box to provide an inclined supporting surface. 1

Pennebaker May 16, 1950 

